Crossing the Border

On the morning of August 12, 2010, we crossed the border at Nogales and headed down the mainland side of Mexico to the ferry at Topolobampo.  The ferry would take us across the Sea of Cortez to La Paz.  Despite all the horror stories running rampant in the news about avoiding travel in Mexico, we encountered not one obstacle.  We stopped at customs to declare some of the belongings in the trailer hitched to our car, paid the required fee, and then drove about 15 more miles where we had to stop and buy our car permit.  Again, all went smoothly.  We prefer the drive on the mainland side as opposed to driving down the Baja side because the highways are better maintained, and are two lanes in both directions.  The first day we drove to Obregon, a large city, and stayed in a hotel we had visited two years before.  When we checked in, we discovered that our names were still in their computer system.  “David and Joyce Reed of La Paz?”  Yes, that’s us!  It was like waving a flag of welcome.  Our meal in the hotel restaurant that night was extremely delicious and we relished the taste of flavors and spices we had missed.

Boarding the Ferry

The next day we arrived at the ferry terminal around 3pm.  Before you can buy your passenger tickets, you have to find the man who measures the length of your vehicle so that you know what type of vehicle ticket to purchase.  One would assume that this person has an office and is easily located.  Not always the case!  After searching for him for more than an hour, a truck driver spotted him and several of us were able to measure our vehicles all at once.  After the tickets were purchased, we had 6 hours to wait until boarding the ferry at 10pm.  (It left at 11:30 pm) Finally, the wait was over and the boys and I walked on, while David drove the car & trailer on board and then met us in the lobby of the ferry.  We had reserved a cabin so that we could sleep the 7 hour trip to La Paz.

Dawn in La Paz

We docked in La Paz at 7am the next morning.  We also discovered that this was sunrise in this part of the world!  Driving through the streets of La Paz in the early morning dawn brought back a flood of memories.  What was the same?  What was different?  We have lived in La Paz longer than any other place.  And yet, as missionaries, we also come and go from this place.  There is a taste of permanence mingled with transience.  Paradoxes.  

MPT Moving Marvels!

For several days we stayed in a waterfront condo loaned to us by friends until we could move into the house we were renting.  We moved into a different house than we had lived in before.  This would be the fourth house we’d rented in La Paz.  Each one holds part of our life story in La Paz.  What would this one hold?  Two days after we arrived in La Paz, a member of our Mission Partnership Team, Bob Kramer, and his 15-year-old daughter Laura, came to visit us.  Bob is a pastor in Ephrata, PA and has hosted several mission groups to La Paz.  This was Laura’s first trip to Mexico.  Bob and Laura helped us move in, did some painting for us, and learned about our ministry as we “hit the ground running”!  It was a joy to experience our initial return with them.  

Crossroads on Road to Maturity

After being gone for 13 months, you can imagine how difficult it is to “catch up.”  Crossroads, the English-Speaking Ministry, received us with open arms.  They were glad to have their full-time pastors back!  We had left a Leadership Team in place during our absence.  This team grew, struggled, learned, laughed, cried, and matured together.  We look forward to growing with them even more, as we mature this ministry to its next level.

Classes Start at Theological School

The Theological School continued while we were gone too.  Praise God!  David is teaching one class this semester, Systematic Theology.  He taught his first class last week, just 3 weeks after we arrived.  He didn’t even know what class he was going to teach until we got here!  And he’d never taught this particular one in Spanish.  But God is good!  Another professor had an outline of the course so he didn’t have to start from scratch.  He has 10 students in his class and teaches on Thursday evenings.

Aaron Goes Spearfishing

Aaron was eager to return to spear fishing.  Already he has been out three different times.  Piedras Blancas is a favorite beach. This past week he speared two fish!  He is also playing the drums with the praise team at Crossroads, and last week he started a youth Bible Study for the teenagers at Crossroads.  It is exciting to see him stepping up and trying on leadership responsibilities.

Prayer for Ian's Health

Ian is a sophomore at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas where he continues to study Mechanical Engineering.  Many of you know that he has been battling a mysterious intestinal pain that first happened in late July.  When it hits, he has extreme pain in his abdomen.  Blood tests and cat scans have ruled out the usual suspects of gall bladder, appendix, and kidney stones thus far.  If he drinks lots of water, and watches his diet, he is better.  Please keep him in your continued prayers.

Your Gifts Change Lives!

Thank you for remembering us in your prayers!  Thank you for your financial gifts to the World Mission Offering during this time.  Your passion for missions is changing the world, one person at a time!

Your ambassadors in Mexico,
David, Joyce, and Aaron Reed